


Nightmare

by TheAnonymousAcorn



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Abandonment Issues, Claustrophobia, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, F/F, It's really not stated in the fic but they're together, Nightmares, Serana fears being alone
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 09:13:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29223000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAnonymousAcorn/pseuds/TheAnonymousAcorn
Summary: Serana's mind is plagued with nightmares, but few are worse than the tomb.
Relationships: Serana (Elder Scrolls)/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 16





	Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> I wish I knew how to title things.  
> Quick fic taking place some time after the Dawnguard questline.

_She breathes in, and the first thing she thinks is that the air in the castle shouldn’t be so stale. An eye opens, part of her wonders if she’d fallen asleep somewhere else and forgotten, but when all she can see is darkness she snaps awake. This wasn’t right. She puts her hands on the stone wall in front of her, only half an arms length away and colder to the touch than her own body. Even without context she knows exactly where she is. Back underground. Buried alive by her own mother, and painfully aware of time moving on without her. But this isn’t right, she’d been set free weeks ago. Hadn’t she? Her memories of the Altmer that had taken her home seem so vivid, almost like a dream, and she doubts herself._

_No. No, no, no. This wasn’t right, she shouldn’t be back here._

_“Elowyn.” She mutters the name of her companion, hands turning into fists. The elven vampire had been so kind to her, like the heroes from her books. Had she ever been real? Had their entire adventure just been one, cruel, dream? “Mother…” She vaguely remembers the Soul Cairn, the lost souls, skeletons, keepers, just how her mother would describe it to her. Just how she imagined it to be. “Father.” The image of her father staring her down as she entered the castle was there, but she couldn’t see his face, only a featureless slate. She hadn’t seen him in so long, and even though she’s just woken up she can’t remember what he looks like._

_She feels the tears in her eyes as the panic sets in. “Let me out!” No one can hear her, she knows that, but it’s all she can think to do. “Please! Don't leave me here!” She bangs her fists against the wall again, and again, and again. She can scream as loud as she wants, knowing even if there was someone right above her they wouldn’t hear it between the layers of dirt and stone, so she does. She begs for her mother to come back, to be set free, to be taken home, but the Gods turn a blind eye and the Daedra only laugh at her struggle. Eventually she can feel blood trail down her hands, and presses her head against what she assumes is the front of the monolith. Her throat is sore, and terribly dry, but she still manages a pathetic sounding sob. There isn’t even enough room to sit and curle in on herself, all she can do is let the tears fall._

_The already tiny space gets uncomfortably tighter as her breathing turns ragged, almost as if it’s shrinking. When she stands straight her back touches the wall behind her, and the ceiling feels lower. A second wave of panic hits her as she feels the walls slowly closing in. She tries to keep them at bay, leaning against the back while her feet push the front with all her might. A sad attempt to stop them, but what else could she do? Her heart feels as if it’s pounding despite being still for over a hundred years, and her eyes glance rapidly around the ever smaller area for a way of escape. But there isn’t one, not one she can access, and there’s nobody to save her. The walls start to squish against her, and even without the need to breathe she finds herself gasping for air. Her arms flatten to her sides as the tomb forces her to stand straight. She can feel it pressing against every part of her, and she wants nothing more than to be back in the garden, the castle, her bedroom, anywhere that wasn’t so incredibly cramped and small. When she tries to call out again she can only manage choked sobs, so she grits her teeth and closes her eyes. If she falls asleep the wait doesn’t take as long, but it’s so hard when her mind is buzzing with intrusive thoughts._

_And when the tomb does open, and she falls forward onto the ground, her saviour isn’t the Altmer, or her mother. Instead she’s met with her father, staring down at her as if she’d killed his favourite death hound. This isn’t right either, he should be long dead, and her stomach sinks at the memory. He pulls her to her feet by the front of her cape, and yells at her. For running away, for stealing his scroll, for stabbing him in the back. For murdering her own blood and betraying him for a half-breed. All she can do is cry and plea, and at some point in his outburst he slaps her. He tells her it's her own fault, because it's always her fault._

_And she tells him she’s sorry, that she’ll never leave him again. She tells him she’ll be good, but he pins her to the ground, and it’s only then she notices the Bow strapped to his back, and her fate is sealed. He takes out a dagger, then tells her he loves her. She says it back, because he’s never told her that before, and even in the moment it makes her feel a little warmer. Then he plunges the knife into her throat-_

Serana sat up with a start, wild eyes glancing around the area as she tried to register where exactly she was. To her relief, it wasn’t the darkened monolith, but rather her own bedroom, dimly lit by a nearby candle. The vampire let out a small sniffle, leaning forward to put her face in her hands. She couldn’t stop her body from trembling, and pursed her lips to quiet any cries that tried to escape. A pathetic display, that’s what she thought, to be so shaken by nothing more than a simple dream. But it had felt horrifically real, and that was enough to send her into a spiral.

Suddenly, the body laying next to her shifted. Elowyn propped herself up on one elbow, using her free arm to rub her eyes. “Serana…?” The Altmer groaned, and the other woman felt terrible for waking her.

“I-I’m so-rry.” Her voice cracked despite her attempts to act normal. She’d never been a good liar. “I…” Serana chewed her lip as she gripped her bedsheets. Did she explain herself? Would her companion be angry? What was the protocol for waking the person you were sharing a bed with? Serana didn’t know, so she repeated herself a little quieter with an involuntary sniffle. “I’m sorry…” She wasn’t sure if the sudden tears blurring her vision were from the nightmare, or the anxiety that she’d found the one thing her only friend wouldn’t tolerate.

The other vampire’s ear twitched, and she pushed herself to sit up properly. “Sorry for… what, darling?” The Nord pursed her lips, wrapping her arms around herself as she leaned forward a little more. Elowyn placed a hand on her back, only to take it back when Serana winced. They sat in silence for a moment while the shorter woman tried to compose herself. “...Was it a nightmare?” The Elf asked softly, head tilting to one side.

Serana gave a sigh. “It’s ridiculous….” She eventually muttered in reply, wiping the tears from her face. “I shouldn’t be affected this badly by… a dream, of all things.” It hadn’t even been a particularly disturbing one. But she had been living a half decent life since leaving that wretched cave. She’d made a true friend, something more than a friend, someone that seemingly loved her with no strings attached, and that she could trust as much as she used to trust her own mother. She wasn’t sure she’d ever felt that kind of love for or from another person before, and to have it all turn out to be her own delusions was a terrifying thought.

“Do you want to talk about it?” The question caught her off guard, and she looked back at the concerned face of the Altmer.

There was a long pause while Serana thought over the question. Was it worth the time? Elowyn had told her on more than one occasion it wasn’t good to keep intense thoughts or feelings bottled inside, and perhaps she was right. It felt rather childish, but it would only keep her awake if she didn’t. “I’m afraid this isn’t real.” She eventually stated. “That I’m going to open my eyes one day and our adventures, everything we’ve done, this whole… relationship... will just be a fuzzy memory I eventually forget.” With a breath, she ran a hand through her hair, another round of tears in her eyes. “And I’ll be back… in that Gods forsaken crypt, rotting away with my thoughts.” Awful thoughts that, even if they still came through, had mostly quieted since being set free.

“Oh, Serana-”

“It’s stupid, I know.”

Elowyn frowned, and put her arm around Serana’s shoulders, allowing the shorter woman to lean on her. “I don’t think it’s... stupid.” The Nord gave a small hum, leaning into the feeling of Elowyn’s fingers playing with her hair. “You have a troubled mind, darling. With the way your family was, I’m not surprised. These fears and thoughts you have, they’re understandable, and I’m sure they’re very disheartening.” There was a pause as the Elf gently pulled Serana to lay back down with her. The other vampire repositioned herself so she could wrap her arm around her companion’s midsection and rest her head on her chest. “But I can assure you this is incredibly real,” Elowyn continued her task of playing with Serana’s hair, earning a pleased growl that made the Elf smile. “and I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Serana gave a yawn and a nod. “I believe you….” She muttered, finding herself dozing off against the woman. “My dreams aren’t nearly this comforting….”

She heard a quiet laugh, and shifted slightly at the feel of a kiss on her head. “Hopefully I can change that. I love you.”

She decided if this was a dream, she never wanted to wake up. “I love you, too.”


End file.
